Land Concentration and Long-Run Development in the Frontier United States

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Smith, Cory
• 署名单位: University System of Maryland; University of Maryland College Park
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20230647
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: productivity; REFORM; agriculture; GROWTH; prices; POLICY; size

摘要

I study the long-run economic effects of land concentration on the American frontier. Using quasi-random variation in initial land allocations from a checkerboard formula, I analyze a large database of property assessments and find that historical concentration reduced modern land values by 4.5 percent and fixed capital by 23 percent. Modern effect sizes are 23-64 percent of their historical equivalents, indicating significant rates of both persistence and convergence over the last 150 years. Using archival data on tenant contracts, I argue that the low-powered incentives of share agreements discouraged investment by large-scale owners with long-term effects.